Lucas Tavern –
HauntedHouses.com

LOCATION:

Lucas Tavern is part of a grouping of historical buildings, called Old Alabama Town that can all be found in Old North Hull Square, in the Old North Hull Historic District.

The address is 310 North Hull Street, Montgomery, Alabama 36104.

DESCRIPTION:

Lucas Tavern is a building with a main tavern room, a kitchen, an eating area and bedrooms, that was fully restored by 1979, when the group of historical buildings it is apart of were all revitalized and returned to their original condition. It became the Visitor's Reception Center and the home of the offices of the Historic District, an organization that runs this living museum of historical buildings, popular with tourists. It is open to the public for a small fee, Monday through Saturday, from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM. On Sunday, it is open form 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM.

The back door of the Tavern opens up onto a square of historical buildings. All the buildings have been equipped with the furniture, details of their past. The third building from the Tavern is the 1890, one room school house, complete with a potbellied stove, an old pine school teacher desk, a kerosene e lamp, pupils' desks, an abacus and the children's writing slates, plus various books used in the instruction of the class.

Guides are dressed in period costumes, ready to explain and help the visitor experience life of that period.

They also do their best to welcome visitors in the same spirit as a former owner of the Lucas Tavern, Eliza Lucas.

HISTORY:

During the 1820 - 1840 era, Lucas Tavern was a favorite, upscale place for travelers to spend the night in clean beds, and enjoy a good meal, and the warm southern hospitality of its owner and hostess, Eliza Lucas. Travelers like General Lafayette, who stayed there in 1825, enjoyed a dinner feast of a variety of Tavern fare, that offered such items as chicken, ham, five vegetables, pudding and sauce, sweet pies, preserved fruits, and a wonderful dessert of strawberries and plums, along with wine and brandy.

Eliza loved what she did, and raised her family here. She had had little education, but was a motivated, hard worker, who put her all into her Tavern. Her warm hospitality, pleasant disposition and wonderful service she offered her guests made her Tavern business a success.

In the 1840s the Lucas Tavern became a private home for over 100 years. The building was abandoned in the 1960s, but fortunately the Landmarks Foundation stepped in to rescue it during 1978, and moved the famous Tavern into Old Alabama Town. Restoration of Lucas Tavern was completed in 1980.

HISTORY OF MANIFESTATIONS:

The spirit of Eliza Lucas became active in 1980, after the renovations of the Tavern was complete, and the living had moved into the offices, located in the old bedrooms. Not only was her beloved Tavern restored, but she once again had people coming, visiting and occupying her Tavern.

She also was pleased that the buildings she spent her life around were also restored, as she began visiting them as well.

MANIFESTATIONS:

The most common sighting of Eliza Lucas, is that of a 5 ft., 3 inch woman, dressed in a Victorian dress, waving cordially and smiling at people passing by, while she stands at the doorway of the Tavern, a favorite place of hers.

On one Saturday morning in 1985, a man came inside the Tavern earnestly wanting to meet Eliza, whom he had first encountered just inside the front door of the Tavern.

Eliza Lucas has also not only appeared to various staff and guides, she also considers herself a member of the governing Old Hull Historic committee. She is well thought of by the staff who appreciate her warm, friendly, helpful, cordial presence, a spirit who appreciates them as well.

Main Fireplace - Far left in picture.

At one late afternoon meeting, that took place in front of the fireplace in the main Tavern room, a controversial matter was being discussed. One committee member became quite agitated, and angry while expounding his/her point of view. Suddenly, a great puff of smoke and ashes blasted from the fireplace, covering this angry person with a coat of gritty chimney soot, much to the amazement of the people there. (It was assumed that Eliza Lucas didn't approve of this person's hostile tone and opinion, that didn't meet her southern hospitality manner standards of being pleasant and finding ways to settle disagreements amiably.)

The staff has to watch what they say as well. During a lunchtime break, two staff members were discussing the Historical District and how it operates, perhaps being a little too critical, in Eliza's opinion. Suddenly, the door to their room began to slide off its hinges and hit the floor with a thud. (Eliza seems to supervise the staff as well, letting them know that she hears what they discuss, and will let them know if their behavior doesn't meet her standards.)

Eliza also takes objects and puts them in different areas. She likes to rearrange, straighten up or put in disarray various objects/things/displays.

Eliza Lucas also has visited the other historical buildings, materializing in front of both staff and visitors. She especially likes the school room, and has even filled in as a photographer's model, like a regular guide would do.

In the late afternoon, on one August day in 1986, an amateur photographer talked the staff into letting him take pictures after the museum had officially closed. He went to the school room first, because it would soon be too dark to take natural light pictures. As he walked toward the school, he wished that he had one of the guides to act as a model, pretending to be the teacher. He entered the room, and quietly closed the door. When he looked up, much to his surprise he saw what he thought was a guide, dressed in her 19th century Victorian costume. She was standing by the window, studying a McGuffy Reader, used by the children, setting up the perfect picture.

After taking some pictures from various positions of this guide, his tripod hit the leg of a nearby desk with a loud crack, startling the woman, causing her to hurriedly start to leave. He pleaded with her to sit at the teacher's desk, so he could get some more photos. She didn't answer him, but went to the picture of George Washington, hanging on the wall, and stood under it. She then looked directly at the photographer, smiled at him, and waved deliberately and slowly at him. He noticed something strange in her eyes. She didn't react to him as a person, but looked directly at his face, making eye contact. Despite it being a warm August day, the photographer was enveloped with chills which permeated his being. Much to his astonishment, the woman floated through the wall under the Washington picture, and disappeared!

The photographer came back the next day and talked to the guide on duty in the Visitor's Center in the Tavern, where he learned of Eliza Lucas. As he was about to leave, he found the McGuffy Reader from the school room laying right at his feet, which wasn't there the moment before.

When he developed the film taken of Eliza Lukas inside the school, the pictures were blank, except for the bright golden light, which was seen in the place where Eliza was standing in each picture, which varied, according to how the photographer had framed his shot.

STILL HAUNTED?

Yes, Eliza happily haunts her beloved Tavern, and the other historical buildings, very pleased with the fine renovations work. She is pleased with the friendly people on staff that welcome the living to her own establishment, a place that she nurtured and ran with dedication while she was alive.